Secure surroundings
by Caledonia1986
Summary: Jenny has a bad car accident and Nick realizes that she means more to him than he'd ever expected... Title is weird, but you'll understand while you read
1. The accident

**Disclaimer: I do not own Primeval (wish I do^^). I do not make any money from this and if I catch someone copying my stories without permission, they will be prosecuted. **

**Pairings: Jenny/Nick (minor hints on Abby/Connor)**

**Rating: K+ (but that may change, I'm not quite sure yet!)  
**

Ok, you guys, this is a new one from me, I hope you like it! Reviews result in neverending happiness!

* * *

With hindsight, she should have known something was about to happen. It had been too quiet all week long, but she hadn't realised it. No one saw it coming, not even Nick having one of his hunches. He had been suspicious, but hadn't said anything. They had spent the evening in the ARC, Jenny working her way through various reports and Nick at his scale model to predict anomalies. Connor and Abby had been out, they had gone to see a movie, though how Connor had persuaded Abby to go and watch some sci-fi movie, only he knew. And Sarah was in the lab, cleaning up the Artifact, while Becker stood guard suspiciously close to it.

It had been sometime around twelve, when Jenny at last decided that she wouldn't do another report until tomorrow, so she deliberatley closed her laptop and walked out of the door, heading for Nick's office. She had spent a few minutes watching him, sitting casually on a chair, feet on the desk, his gaze staring towards the "Matrix" (as it was called by some) and his brow frowned in deep thought. He didn't even recognize her at first, it was something typical for him, whenever he was thinking. To others it seemed as if he wasn't thinking at all, he wasn't moving in any way or reacting to anything said to him. Connor had once joked that when Nick was thinking, a Stegosaurus could walk past him and he wouldn't notice. That probably wasn't true, it was too big a creature, but something smaller would probably go by unheeded.

Thinking about the possibility that the Professor would ignore a creature from the past walking through his office made Jenny giggle. That sound seemed to pull him out of his thoughts and he turned his bright blue gaze towards her, still frowning as if he was wondering how she got there.

"Hey, Jenny." He said, smiling at her, while she walked towards the desk.

"Having fun?" Jenny answered, her head tilted to the side slightly, while she sat down on the visitors chair.

"Wouldn't call it fun. Something doesn't add up, there's something wrong with it, I just dont know what it is yet. What's the time, by the way?" he returned his gaze back to her, after he had looked at the anomaly map for a few seconds. Strangely he had no clock in his office, Jenny noticed just now, such things never occured to her mind before.

"Around half past twelve. I was thinking to stop by and ask what you were doing after fiddling with your toy." she answered, smiling brightly at him, which was probably the reason why he just grimaced instead of lecturing her that this thing was no toy. Even if it looked like the worlds smallest roller coaster. They talked a bit, each one enjoying the others company, until Jenny stood up and announced that she'd be going home now.

"How about dinner tomorrow night?" Nick suggested whilst standing up and walking towards the door.

"Sounds good, Professor. How about eight at my house?" Jenny answered, turning around, facing him at the doorstep, smiling up at him.

"Right then, eight it is." He said, lowering his voice slightly, giving it a sooting and quite seducing tone. Playfully she clapped him on the arm and giggled again.

"Think of something nice." She said, turning on her heels and walked towards her car. She could feel his eyes on her back, and had to remind her constantly to not turn around. With every step she took, it became more and more some kind of Mantra to her, repeating in her mind.

As she reached the car, a smile emerged on her lips as she thought that he'd probably been standing there, at the doorstep of his office, watching her walk out. If she really thought of it, it was rather cute, though that wasn't a word she'd normally apply to Nick Cutter. He didn't seem the type of man to be cute.

Driving out of the premises of the ARC, she switched on the radio and heard some old songs being played at the station. It wasn't a problem for her to be on the road at almost eleven in the night, usually that was the time they got home after some creature attack, but she was careful. It was a Friday night after all, and people tended to drive reckless in London at that time of day. Jenny was driving normally, stopping at some traffic light she watched the moon rise above the skyline of London. It had a circle around it, like a courtyard and it was bigger than usual.

_Full moon, how atmospheric..._

On the next crossing it happened. Jenny didn't even saw it coming, all of a sudden her car was filled with a bright light and the blaring of a horn honking. She had just enough time to look to her right, seeing a tall thing just a few meters away and just before it hit the car she could see a small emblem on the front of it. A bulls-head, just at the height of her own head, she realised it the moment the car collided with hers. Metal screeched and was bent, her Airbag unfolded, everything happened in slowmotion as Jenny lost control of her Volvo.

The last thing she saw before the darkness of unconciousness claimed her, was the wall in front of her, rushing towards her.

* * *

The next morning dawned brightly as Nick awoke in his bed. Groaning he turned to look at his watch, 6 in the morning, the gods really hated him today. Though it hadn't been the sunlight shining through the open shutters that had caused his waking, it was the beeping of his mobile, lying on the bedside table. Cursing silently he grabbed it and glanced at its display just long enough to realise it was Abby calling.

_Why the hell is she calling on a Saturday morning at six?_

"Abby, this better be important." He grumbled as he picked up. But it wasn't Abby at the other end of the line, it was Connor. He sounded nervous, anxious even, as if something threw him completely out of line.

"Sorry to wake you Professor, but this is important."

Sitting up, Nick forced his tired brain to concentrate on the boy.

"Anomaly?" he asked as he picked his jeans from the floor.

"No. I'm at the hospital." The boy sounded as if it wasn't him who was injured. Instantly Nick was awake, fearing the worst.

"Did something happen to Abby?" he asked, knowing Connors affection for his flatmate and best friend. It was silent on the other end for a moment, seemingly Connor tried to find the right words.

_Oh, shit..._

"No, Abby's fine. It's Jenny. She had an accident."

Briefly Nick was unable to say anything. His mind thought of all the things that could have happened to Jenny, how severly she could be injured. The concern for her was almost too much to take for him, the last thing he wanted was to lose her too, after the pain of losing Claudia.

"Which hospital?" he heard himself ask, but his voice was unknown to himself. He sounded as if he had been screaming at the top of his lungs.

"University College Hospital, Regent's park."

"I'm on the way." Nick said, shaking himself out of his dream-like state, forcing his body to move, while his mind probably was already out the door.

* * *

ok, so I have some kind of fixation on hospitals, probably because I work for one^^ Please forgive me on the Cliffhanger, it was just too tempting...

Greetings Callie


	2. Is she alright?

ok, next chappie is up, so read it and weep! (Ok, kidding! There's no need for tears!)

Thanks to the reviews of CakeyxClickx, mwiles and xxXxGacieCullenHarknessxxXx! Thanks a lot mates, I liked to read them!

* * *

Nick probably broke the record for fast-dressing, because he was out of his house and on the way in under five minutes. All sleep was forgotten while he urged the Hilux through the streets of London. Now he was glad for the early call, on a Saturday morning at six the traffic wasn't quite as unbearable as on any other day. Nonetheless it seemed like ages to him, as if the car wasn't moving fast enough, or something slowed him down. Whenever Nick had to stop on a traffic light, he strated drumming his fingers at the steering wheel, glaring at the red lights, hoping they would switch soon. And he had to force his brain to think of something else, other than Jenny in the wreck of her Volvo. He really hated these little mindmovies, they seemed to make everything even worse. His mind went over all the possible injuries she could have sustained, each one worse than the one before.

Nick had to supress a nervous shudder, as the giant shape of the hospital emerged into sight. A huge building of glass and iron, polished like a crystal it stood on a corner, people walking in front of it.

Connor hadn't been specific as to what had happened to Jenny or how badly she was injured, but Nick (being himself) suspected the worst. Such as usual with him, whenever Jenny was involved, he just got overprotective, fearing what might happen to her. And she had a talent for troubles. But ironically car accidents weren't high up that list. They always suspected that they got killed by one of the creatures one day, crushed or ripped apart. The idea that one of them actually might be hurt during such a thing as a car crash didn't occur to their minds. And yet it had happened, it was always the things they weren't considering, which tended to turn around and bite them.

Nick stopped the Hilux close to the main entrance, as close as possible, spotting Abby's blue mini not far away. That meant that both Abby and Connor were here, seeing as Abby would never allow the boy to drive her car if she was still able to.

He wasted a few moments to lean forwards onto the steerin wheel and took several deep breaths. It would help no one if he ran in there, completely out of sorts; they were probably as worried as he was. No need to worry them even further with his gruesome mind-movies and gloomy view of things. Deliberately he got out of the car and made his way towards the glassy front of the huge building. Inside all was like a maze around him, something seemingly usual for hospitals, people everywhere, nurses, doctors and patients, turning corners and coming through doors.

Nick stopped the first nurse to cross his path.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for the A&E department." He said, his voice sounded calm, but the words shook him deeply inside, though he concealed it pretty good.

"It's down that hallway and to the left." She said, hurrying away before he even had a chance to thank her. Following the description he passed many doors, no patient or treatment rooms, merely diagnostic ones. Behind each one of these, fate was designed, saving people or condemning them.

His thoughts were stopped as he spotted a pacing Connor amidst the crowd and called to him. Next to the boy, on a chair by the wall, Abby sat, her eyes lighting up as she saw Nick.

"What happened?" Nick asked them both, but Connor was a tad faster than Abby. It was almost funny, the boy suddenly got professional, he knew there was no room for small talk or jokes.

"We received the call about ten minutes before we phoned you. We know nothing concrete yet, but the police told us, Jenny was hit by a truck, about the size of a pickup. The driver was drunk and didn't see her. They are still questioning him on that. Anyway, they wont let us see her, she's somewhere behind these doors. And we haven't seen her doctor either, we've been waiting since we arrived." Shrugging Connor looked towards the double-doors labeled 'OR – No visitors allowed' and fell silent. He seemed as restless as Nick felt, a dread covering their thoughts, the fear of never seeing Jenny alive again. And even though Nick thought so, he forced himself to act encouraging towards the others.

"She'll be all right. You know Jenny, never gives up without a good fight." Though he had the slight feeling that it was a lie, it helped to say these words. There was still some hope left, like a pale gleaming on the horizon, figuratively spoken, it was not yet over.

"What about Lester? We couldn't reach him in his office and I don't have the number of him at home." Abby asked, her voice careworn and sounding somewhat helpless, looking at Nick for information on that point.

"Because it's a Saturday, he wont be at the ARC until sometime around nine. Then I'll talk to him." Nick didn't even know he had spoken; everything around seemed unreal, like it wasn't really happeneing. And at the same time it was so goddamn realistic, like a very vivid nightmare with no one who would wake him up. They fell silent again and Connor; now calmer than before because Nick was there, stopped his pacing and sat down on a chair next to Abby, unconciously reaching for her hand. Nick leaned against a wall, looking at the ground beneath his feet while the world rushed around them all. From time to time he looked towards the door, mainly when it opened and someone walked out or in, but no one came to them. Time passed unheeded, minutes or even hours flying past, but none of them noticed. They were anxious to find out news on Jenny, how she was doing, how severly she was injured, if she would be allright again, normal questions anyone wanted to ask, when someone was in hospital. Nick stood still, silent as a tree in the forest, a pillar of reassurance to his younger team mates, yet Abby knew what he was thinking. His face was calm, but his eyes told the story of a man who feared the woman he cared about to be taken away from him again. He just knew there wasn't anything he could do, he was literally helpless. And that was for someone like Nick, who liked to be in control of his surroundings, a very hard time. It reminded her of that day in the Forest of Dean, when he came back from the Permian and asked for this Claudia Brown. It had been worse then, but his eyes looked almost the same. Only without the confusion of being thrown into a different reality. Tensed Abby began to bite her nails, one of her strange habits when she was worried or concerned and Connor just stared at the doors, seemingly his thoughts miles away, as if he was trying to make a doctor appear just because he wished for it. Didn't work, no one came, and after a while Connor's eyes started to dart around, looking for something to distract him. After what seemed an eternity, he looked up at Nick and spoke quietly.

"What do we do if..." he couldn't finish, but it wasn't needed. Everyone knew what he was implying at.

"She wont. She's a stong person, she wont ... die." Nick answered him harshly, hoping he wasn't lying. It had been a struggle to even say it, he rather didn't want to think about what he might do if the worst really happened. But he had asked himself the same question for the last few minutes, his mind swarmed around every possible injury from a car crash, started by some bruises and stopping at a complicated neural damaging. He really hoped Jenny would be fine again, the thought of losing her made him almost go mad, though he didn't know why exactly. He had to restrain himself, force him to not start pacing the way Connor had done when he arrived. Thankfully at last a doctor walked towards them, a woman at the age of about 30, maybe younger.

"Excuse me, are you here for Ms. Lewis?" she asked, revealing a perfect, accentfree english, possibly she was from Oxford. Instantly all three gathered around the doctor, leaving it to Nick to ask the most pressing questions.

"How is she?" Nick asked hesitantly, worried of the answer. The polite smile on the doctors lips vanished and made room for a slightly concerned frown.

"Ms. Lewis has a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury, commonly known as concussion. Also a complicated fracture of her right leg, some ribs have fissures along with minor cuts and bruises. Due to the concussion she'll be disorientated for a few days up to two weeks. The leg has been repaired and remains in a cast for at least five weeks. She should take it easy now, but she'll recover completely. Usually concussion symptoms vanish within the first days completely, but I'd like to keep her here at least over the weekend, just to be on the safe side, in case there is intracranial bleeding. Which is unlikely" she added quickly, seeing Nick's horrified face "but nonetheless we'll keep her for observation. She's sedated now, to minimize the risk of her moving. Are you the husband?" she asked pointing to Nick, who shifted somewhat uncomfortable. If he said he was, they would allow at least him to go in. But that would be lying, something Nick wasn't very good at. And if he denied, it would be the truth, but no one would be allowed in.

_Man, talk about dilemmas..._

"No, we're her colleagues. She's not married." He answered finally, deciding that lying wouldn't get him anywhere. "Can we see her?" he added hastingly, noticing the other nod beside him. The doctor sighed, clearly not wanting to allow them all in, but aware that a visit may help Jenny's recovery. Abby seemed to read the thughts of the doc and turned to Nick, a kind expression on her young face.

"You go in. We'll head to the ARC and tell the others." Seeing him nod absentmindedly, she grabbed her coat and bag from the chair and gave Nick a quick hug.

"Say hi from us. And tell us how she's doing." She added, taking Connor's hand to lead him outside. Of course, she didn't want to leave, but right now it was best if only one went to see Jenny, it would be less confusing. She waved and disappeared around the corner.

Nick knew Abby hated hospitals almost as much as he did himself, but her sense of duty had restrained her. Now that she knew Jenny would be fine in a couple of days (not counting the broken leg) she had decided it was Nick's call after all. It was plain to everyone who had eyes that he liked her a lot. Maybe even more than was good for him, but it warmed her heart to see him care about Jenny. Abby had decided that he should have the chance to be alone with Jenny for a while, knowing his presence would calm her down. So she shoved Connor into her car and set off towards the ARC, hoping the doc would he right and Jenny would make full recovery.

For all of their sakes.

* * *

Nick gasped as he saw Jenny in that hospital bed, her beautiful face bruised and swollen, her pale skin scratched and in some places turning in hues of red to purple. Her leg hung in a sling, a plain white cast around it. She was breathing steadily, lost in medically induced slumber, but Nick supposed it was probably for the best. She would have been in pain because of her injuries and sleep could draw that out. Glancing to her bedside he perceived an i.V. drop of morphine.

_Ok, when she wakes up, she'll at least have no pain. She'll be high, probably..._

Despite that quite funny image of Jenny being high on morphine, he couldn't restrain the pity as he looked at her. She had always seemed so tough, unbendable, like a huge tree in an open field. Supressing the sligth tremor in his hands Nick stepped closer, as silently as manageable. Her doctor, Dr. Mitchell as she had introduced herself, had left them alone, allowing them a bit of privacy. Nick sat down next to Jenny's bed, taking in everything about her, trying in vain to ignore the bruises and the small cuts across the hand he reached for. No sound except the life support monitor and their slow breathing pierced the silence.

Long time he sat there, just staring at Jenny, hoping she'd be fine soon. Somehow he couldn't bear the thought of her loss; he simply refused to accept that possibility. He didn't know if he would be able to take that pain. It had been bad when Helen disappeared, it had been worse than anything before when Claudia vanished, but losing Jenny would probably be the worst of all. With Helen or even Claudia he had given himself enough time to realise he wouldn't get them back. But just the mere image of Jenny's dead body given to the earth was too much to take.

Then, after a long while, Jenny's eyelids fluttered slightly; she was waking up. Smiling Nick gripped her hand a bit tighter, silently thanking the universe.

"Jenny?" he whispered low, smiling brighter as her eyes finally slid open properly and she set her gaze at him. Her voice was weak and hoarse, pure exhaustion dripping form every syllable.

"What happened?"

_God, she sounds so much like C__laudia tright there..._

"You had an accident." He answered; glad it wasn't exactly what he had told Claudia, that would have been too damn awkward.

"Where am I?"

"In the hospital." He said, and gave his voice a soothing tone to calm her. She looked confused, a bit frightened also and the last thing he wanted was to make her freak out even more. Jenny looked long at him, not saying a word, as if she was thinking about him.

"As soon as I heard what had happened, I came here. I should tell you now that Abby and Connor say hi and they hope you'll be fine soon." Nick said, not wanting the silence around them to endure.

"Abby and Connor?" Jenny asked, looking even more confused. Nick couldn't follow for a moment, the joy of seeing her brown eyes made him think a bit slower plus he though she was kidding.

"Yeah, Abby and Connor. You know, platinum blonde lizard girl and a geeky boy." It wasn't until there that he realised the meaning behind the words. Before Jenny even replied to his explanation he felt icy shudders run down his spine, finally grasping the meaning of the question and the confusion in Jenny's eyes.

"This may seem weird, but am I supposed to know you?"

_Oh please God, no...._

_

* * *

_Ok, I promise, this was the last cliffhanger like that. I'll try to at the least^^

As always, tell me what you think of it!


	3. Who are you?

Next one up, so read and enjoy! Don't worry, things will calm down now...

Thanks to all the reviewers! You've been a great help!

Sorry again for the last cliffhanger, I guess it was the last so far... Or maybe not (I'm not sure yet^^)

* * *

Nick had stayed the last half hour or so outside the door, talking to Dr. Mitchell, silently wondering on how exactly he should break those news to Lester or his team. How could he explain this? Jenny couldn't remember any of them, not him, not Abby or Connor, not Lester and most certainly not the ARC in general. And that was really bad news, the worst to him. Dr. Mitchell did her best to assure him that Jenny's memory would return soon, probably shortly after the symptoms of the concussion wore off. But somehow Nick didn't believe he would be that lucky. The doctor urged him to go home, so that she could run some more tests on Jenny. Reluctantly, but realising he wouldn't be of any help here, Nick agreed and thankfully the doc promised to call as soon as she knew anything in Jenny's condition.

Thinking Nick drove back towards the ARC, he thought mainly of how to tell the others without shocking them much further, how to say that Jenny had lost her memory whilst he needed to keep a straight face at that.

While he drove through the madness of London traffic, he tried to bury his feelings deeply, shut them off from the world by building a huge wall around them, but the hard truth was that it hurt like hell. He didn't exactly know why, but it did. He felt like he had lost Jenny now too, like everything in his life that promised peace and closure was taken from him again and again.

Gravely he walked through the corridors of the ARC, heading straight for Lester's office. Nick knew he had to tell the man soon, before his inner wall broke down, which would allow Lester to look behind the mask of detachment and perceive the pain. Nick didn't bother knocking, Lester looked towards him anyway, the man had probably spotted him as soon as he had crossed the main room and was on his way up the ramp.

"Well Cutter; what news on Jenny?" he asked, apperantely Abby and Connor had already filled him in. His snickering tone of voice was silenced and even though he displayed no notable feelings, he seemed genuinely concerned about Jenny's health. Lester might come across as an arrogant man, but deep down he cared about his employees. Though the man would never admit that, or he'd say something like he needed them to do the dirty work.

"She's in hospital, they'll keep her for observation at least over the weekend. Unfortunately, in addition to her injuries, she has apperantely lost her memory. Her doctor says it's some kind of short-termed amnesia due to the crash. They'll call as soon as they have news."

Lester's face fell for an instant, before the man was able to snatch back up his own emotional mask, and Nick remembered for a moment that utterly confused look on Jenny's and grimaced.

"Her leg is broken also and she has a couple of fractured ribs, plus a huge number of cuts and bruises." Nick continued quietly, hoping that by saying it he could regain some kind of control over his emotions. That this explanation would relax him a bit, but the opposite happened, he tensed even more as he imagined the pain Jenny must have suffered.

After a few minutes of talk to Lester, he decided that now was the time to fill in the team. Sarah and Becker were probably around here somewhere, and Abby and Connor supposedly with them. He found them all gathered in the largest lab, sitting on a small table littered with all kinds of paperwork, coffee mugs between them. On the table next to them were some dead creatures. They had come through a future anomaly and had died here, probably they suffocated because of the oxygen in the atmosphere. Nick supposed they were in a similar situation like those fog worms had been, unable to breath outside their own environment. He thought that they might be from further away in time than any had been before, a place and time where earth shifted back into the first state, where there was less oxygen, more carbondioxide. Something like that, though he didn't want to think about it now. To any other person it would have seemed weird, people sitting around drinking coffee, whilst some unknown species lay on the table next to them.

Deliberately shaking his head, Nick stepped forwards, clearing his throat to gain their attention. Looking at their interested and deeply concerned faces he took a deep breath and started to speak.

"I think you already know that Jenny is in the hospital. She's currently on sick leave and the doctor told me she'll recover completely. She even woke up while I was there. That's the good news." He said, seeing their faces light with relief and joy.

"The bad news is that she seems to have lost her memory. She can't remember any of us or the ARC in general." How Nick managed to speak calmly, he didn't know, probably because he still was shocked and quite shaken, his mind had just started to go into damage control mode in order to make him survive the day. He had been prepared for questions, already gained as much information as he was able to get, hoping it would assure them that everything would be normal again soon.

_As normal as it is going to get here..._

Nick answered the questions best he could, sometimes he referred to the doctor who had told him that stuff, somewhat glad they had brought her to the University Hospital.

"That hospital has the best disgnostic team in London. Right now there is no place better for Jenny. We will just have to wait until the doc calls. That's all we can do now."

He had barely ended as the sirens started to blare around them, announcing the appearence of a new anomaly. Just for a moment everyone was frozen to the spot, until Connor darted out the room towards the ADD, the others close behind him.

_Ok, this is SO not my day..._

* * *

Three hours later

Thankfully the anomaly was quite harmless, nothing dangerous had come through, just a few small mammals from the eozene and the creatures were rather frightened and easily herded back. No one had been wounded or bitten (since that thing with the dodo's they kept a close eye on anyone who got bitten), and the anomaly had closed soon after the last creature ran through it. No witnesses, no wounded, everything was oddly calm, and so they had decided the team would head back to the ARC, while five soldiers would stand guard, just in case the anomaly reappeared.

Despite that quite normal goings at the anomaly site, within the ARC the air was thick with concern. Nick silently begged for his mobile to ring, but it remained speechless. Neither of them could really concentrate on anything, so the whole team just pretended to work, ever so often glancing towards Nick's office, where their leader sat behind his desk, staring towards the anomaly map, but unable to see it. His thought was with Jenny, as it had been all morning long. And the more time passed without any news, the more he wished for it to stay that way. He felt that if Dr. Mitchell called it would be bad news, so it was good that the phone was silent. At least in a way.

At last Lester sent them all home, saying that despite he could understand their moods, he didn't pay them for loitering. Reluctantly and murmuring displeased they obeyed and gathered around the parking lot, not really wanting to go because they felt that together they could withstand most of what fate decided to throw at them. As so often, Nick was the last to leave the building, followed by the nervous gazes of his colleagues; he seemed so tired and worn out. Almost like he couldn't stand it much longer. He was paler than usual, talking but not really speaking, his eyes gazed into nowhere and the concern within them made him seem suddenly so much older. There wasn't even the slightest hint of hidden happiness as he told them goodbye and promised to call them if anything happened.

They didn't blame him, Nick was trashed, he seemed like he had lost everything he had cared for, all he had set his hopes into, or at least was about to lose it. They had all seen the looks and the affection between Nick and Jenny, not to mention that huge sexual tension; and now he feared that he had lost her before they even had a chance to be together. And knowing him, he would probably drive straight to the hospital, neither bothering to eat or to sleep, pacing the corridors like a caged tiger or sit beside Jenny and try to trigger her memory.

"Well, I think we could all use a drink. I personally don't care that its hardly 4 in the afternoon. How about we head down to the pub?" Sarah suggested, receiving nods from the others.

"Yeah, and it better be something harder than beer." Becker stated, already walking towards his car, the rest closely after him.

* * *

As expected, Nick drove back towards the hospital. He couldn't help it; he just wanted to see Jenny, even if she had no memory of him. It reminded Nick of that whole Claudia-thing, no one had remembered her except himself. Now Jenny couldn't remember them, it was alike and yet unlike. Arriving at the hospital, Nick shook his head again, trying to regain some kind of control over him and his emotion, while he walked the same way he had walked that very morning. He asked his way through towards Dr. Mitchell and found her advising a nurse about something. Patiently Nick waited until she turned her attention to him.

"Ah, Mr. Cutter, is it? You're here to visit Ms. Lewis. We have transferred her to the observation unit on the third floor. You can visit her, she's concious, but still a bit shaken. Maybe you could help by talking with her, perhaps she'll recall something."

Nodding he listened to the explanation of the doctor, who told him which way to take to reach the unit where Jenny was. Personally he hated hospitals; for one thing because they tended to resemble mazes very often.

At last he reached the observation unit, a nurse showed him the way to Jenny's room and as Nick opened the door she turned her warm gaze at him. She seemed content where she was, but she was wary about Nick. Who could really blame her for it, after all she couldn't remember who he was. Smiling reassuringly he stepped a bit closer, but resisted the urge to sit down.

"Hello, Jenny. You don't remember me, but I know you pretty well. I may be able to help you remembering, so you can ask me anything you like, I'll answer as best I can." He said, aiming for a soothing voice, which so often had worked in the past. And seemingly it still did, for Jenny looked at him friendlier, she seemed to sense he was no threat to her. She gestured him to sit on the visitos's chair, a thing to which Nick gladly obeyed. She trusted him at least enough to listen to him. Quietly she spoke after a few minutes of looking into his eyes, searching for a lie in it, which she couldn't find.

"I'm sorry I can't remember you. I seem to have forgotten almost anything, I feel almost glad I know how to talk." She said, an apologetic smile on her lips.

"It's ok, trust me. The doctor said your memory will come back soon, and I think I believe her in that point."

"What is your name then? Since you know me, I think it would only be fitting if I knew your name also." This time her smile was a little more genuine.

"Of course. My name is Nick Cutter."

"And how come you know me?" the confusion returned in Jenny's eyes, leaving her looking so vulnerable.

"We work together. At a place called the ARC, it's a research centre, but I think its too long a story to be told here."

Jenny frowned but accepted the answer, she had time enough to ask later and if Nick had told the truth to her, she'd remember soon enough anyway. Nonetheless it was clear to her that Nick wanted to help her, even if she couldn't follow entirely. But he seemed to care and that was worth something.

"And what do I work there? Am I a scientist? And what do you work there?" Now Jenny was caught on the hook, her natural inquisitiveness returning; she had about a billion questions and they all demanded an answer.

"No, you are the PR-woman of our team. You work mostly with people, witnesses to the ... animals we catch. And I'm an evolutionary zoologist. We are in a team together with some others."

_Honestly, how do you explain the anomaly to someone who has just lost her memory?_

"Animals? What kind of animals?" Jenny asked, clearly aware of the short break Nick had took, as if he wanted to say something other than 'animals'.

"They are very special. Listen, it's very complicated, and I think that right now it might be a little bit to much information for you. I promise, when you feel better, I'll explain everything I know to you."

Hesitatingly Jenny nodded, she could wait, but she wouldn't let the subject lie. But for now there were other questions demanding answers.

"You said, there are other members in that team. Who are they?"

"Well, there's Abby Maitland, she's our specialist for animal behaviour, but her true fascination lies with lizards and snakes. She's got a whole collection of them at home, some of them rather unique. Connor Temple, he knows his way through almost every computer or electronic gadget you could name. He's a bit geeky, but he's a good man, loyal and funny at times. Then there's Captain Becker, he makes sure no one gets harmed in any way. Sarah Paige; she works mostly in the lab, she's got a doctor for Mythology. And last there's James Lester, but we all call him just Lester. He's technically our boss, at least he likes to try and command us. Doesn't work very often. He seems a bit arrogant and igorant, but I reckon that's just his way with people." He grinned a bit, which made Jenny chuckle in turn. It was amazing to see her laugh again. She relaxed and seemed like the old Jenny again, and Nick even found a way to ignore the bruises on her face. After some seconds her giggles subsided and she looked down at her leg.

"And what happened to me? I think you said I had an accident, but what kind? Was I injured by an animal?" She asked interested, wanting to catch him off guard, and clearly aware that those things they were dealing with were no ordinary animals.

"No, you had a car accident. Looks like it happened when you left work to head home. Another car hit yours and I think due to the force of crash your leg broke. But you gave us all a big fright there, if I may add."

Thinking Jenny frowned again, as if she was pondering on what she had heard.

"So just for better understanding. I work with you, and when I drove home I had an accident and now I can't remember anything?" she asked disbelieving.

"Pretty much, yes. But Dr. Mitchell said, you'll remember soon. It could just take a few days." Nick answered nodding, feeling sorry for her. He couldn't imagine the confusion that ran through Jenny's veins, but at least he had a chance of explain everything to her.

She kept asking many questions and he answered them as best as he could without frightening her. Normally Jenny was tough when it came to that, but now she was so weak-looking and he didn't want to scare her or confuse her any more by telling her that the animals they delt with were usually dinosaurs. Yet he enjoyed staying with her. At lenght he felt thrirsty and offered to walk downstairs to the cafeteria and get something for her too.

"Tea would be great, I think." Nodding he got up, but paused on the door, a slight smile on his lips.

"Milk?" he grinned.

"Yes, please. And two sugars." the answer came almost immidiately, which made Nick grin towards Jenny, who sat in her bed, looking both confused and happy. Of course Nick knew how she liked her tea, but he wanted her to say it. And Jenny had just remembered something. It wasn't much, but something that triggered new hope for the both of them.

When he came back, two mugs of tea in hand, he found her frowning still, looking out the window as if she hadn't noticed Nick coming back. After a bit of silence she turned those beautiful eyes at him once more, now filled with trust and hope.

"You knew about the tea, didn't you?"

"Yes, I knew. I just thought it would help if I asked you. Seems like it did." Nick smiled and saw the light return in Jenny's eyes. She understood that he was a friend of her and that was enough to make her trust him.

* * *

So, be comforted. Jenny will remember everything, but it'll take a while.

I'll update as soon as I can (means as soon as the next chappie is finished^^)

Review if you like!


	4. Realisations

Ok, I am truly sorry that it took so long to finish this last part and you had to wait that long. But life has been a bit stressful lately and I just didn't feel like writing much.

So, this is the last chapter of this story, the grand finale so to speak. Hence the length of it, I just thought that splitting it in two would not be good.

As usual, Reviews would be lovely...

* * *

A week later

Nick had called the others, telling them that Jenny would be fine and that she had remembered the small thing of how she liked her tea, which had resulted in happy shouts of Abby and Connor groaning in the background. Apperantely the boy had been badly hungover, and Abby had told him that Connor knocked a few pints. Which explained him feeling sick, because Connor Temple should never be allowed near any form of alcohol, he just couldn't take it.

The day after that, Nick had brought some clothing for Jenny, reckoning she wouldn't want to wear that hospital-paperdress all the time. With hindsight it had been a good idea that everyone kept a spare key to the flats and houses of the others, because on occasions like that it was very helpful. And the clothes served another purpose, namely Jenny picked out a blue shirt and said that she liked it best and was able to remember where she had bought it.

_Being glad of small steps..._

Now it was Friday again and after a week of rather harmless anomaly sites and Jenny getting better from day to day, she was finally being discharged. So Nick had volunteered to pick her up and drive her home, making sure she had everything, while the others would buy supplies and all that sorts of stuff. And no one had argued, in fact they had nearly pushed him for the 'pick Jenny up' part, because at first he had suggested that he should buy supplies, simply for his car was the biggest. But they had insisted, and so Nick had given in and was now on his way towards the UCH. And while he drove he let the last week pass again and the things that had happened.

Strangely; despite the pain of seeing Jenny injured they had gotten very close, Nick often stayed with her every minute he could spare. And what was even weirder, Lester had not said one word about that. Sure, there wasn't really much to do at the ARC right now, except when an anomaly turned up and he had successfully dodged every question about the ARC in general or where he would rush off to when Jenny was around. For some absurd reason Nick still feared of what could happen if he told Jenny the full thing. It was complicated enough without having suffered from memory loss, but that being the case Jenny would think he was nuts.

And given that she already had remembered some things, places or names, Nick wasn't really keen on confusing her much more. He was content with seeing her every day, watching those beautiful eyes light up whenever he entered her room, hearing her laugh while he shoved her around in a wheelchair or sitting in the small park behind the hospital. And strangely she seemed to feel fine too, sometimes asking stuff about her life, but usually she would be trying to figure out herself. When they talked their topics would be light and somewhat unimportant, sometimes teasing each other, sometimes not. And Nick had the feeling that they both enjoyed that.

Of course the others had been visiting very often and talked to Jenny quite some time. Although the first time Abby had visited with Connor dangling behind her, Jenny had gotten a rather nasty headache because Connor was talking her almost to death at a very fast pace, while he wrote well-wishes and greetings upon the cast. And she had laughed as the boy had received a playful slap on the head by Abby; it still fascinated Nick at how she changed whenever she laughed or smiled.

And as he walked down the now familiar looking hallways of the UCH, Nick allowed himself to smile too.

_Life is weird sometimes... Jenny is in the hospital and yet she's now closer to you then ever before..._

Knocking on the door and opening it slowly, he caught sight of her, sitting on the bed, a set of crutches next to her, smiling hugely towards him.

"Hey, Nick. Came to pick me up?" Jenny asked while her smile deepened and settled forever within Nick's heart. She wore dark trousers, the cast hidden underneath them, a dark green shirt, while her brown hair curled around her shoulders. She still seemed a bit pale, but her smile alone told that she was well enough to leave the care of doctors. Right on cue Dr. Mitchell stepped in and once more looked Jenny over, gave some instructions to her, filled out a prescription for painkillers which she handed to Nick and finally discharged her.

As if that was the signal Jenny had been waiting for, she grabbed the crutches with some determination and levered herself up from the bed. Seemingly she already had practised with them, for she was getting along nicely, while Nick grabbed her already packed bag and walked with her through the corridors towards the exit.

Together, side by side, they walked out of the hospital. She had refused to get a wheelchair to the car, suddenly in a very bossy Jenny-like manner at which Nick had to grin. She could still be very bossy when she wanted to, and it was a good sign that she found back to her old self. She had already remembered some smaller stuff, like the fact that Abby owned a lizard called Rex, but they were all waiting for what Connor had called the "Big Bang". Something which triggered her memory enough to let her remember everything.

Nick for himself was just glad she was going to be ok and on her way home, even if she was on crutches and looked only a little bit like the Jenny they all knew. But she was going to be fine; he repeated that over and over, the sentence slowly was becoming a Mantra to him.

At length they reached the Hilux and Jenny tried to get into the passengers seat, but somehow her crutches were in the way.

_If she's going on like that, she'll hurt herself..._

Quickly, and without further thought, Nick grabbed the crutches and lifted Jenny carefully up so she couldn't possibly smack her leg somewhere. Though he regretted that decicion almost immidiately, for now he knew the smell of her hair and the dainty grace of her body underneath his hands. And seeing Jenny blush slighty and smile at him in a 'thanks' fashion made it even worse.

But nonetheless Nick couldn't hide the happiness he felt at the sight of that smile, so he was only able to resist for a moment, before he smiled back at her and saw her eyes gleam up. She was silent, until Nick had steered the Hilux out of the premises of the UCH.

"Thanks for helping me. I guess I'm doing alright with those on even ground, but getting into a car was a little more difficutlt than expected. I know I should be happy that I don't know how to use those, but right now its just annoying." She said queitly, while her eyes followed the street.

"I think its better that way. Gives me the opportunity to carry you around." Nick teased her, which resulted in a faint blush across Jenny's cheeks. She gave him a lopsided grin, but her eyes gleamed suddenly; as if she was about to strike back. She was already used to this slight banter, a light battle of who would have the last word.

"What if I don't want to be carried?" she asked, this time looking at Nick properly to see his reaction.

"Would you rather have it I let you fall down?"

"No, you mistook my meaning. What makes you think, I want to be carried by you?" Jenny giggled slightly at the grin Nick shot at her. She had won this round and both knew it.

"Touché Jenny." He grinned, forcing to hold back the laughter in his throat. Didn't work long, because as soon as he heard Jenny giggle beside him he joined in. Fascinated he looked at Jenny for an instant; she was always getting so beautiful when she laughed, she seemed to gleam with a strange light emerging from her eyes.

But it subsided along with her laughter and she looked long at Nick, who had his attention on the street, but was aware of her gaze.

"Is there something you want to ask?" he said after a few minutes, while he halted in front of a traffic light. Nick saw her bite her lower lip, a sure indication that there was something which troubled her, but she was unsure how to but it.

"Is there a reason why you take care of me?" she asked quietly, almost shyly and Nick was startled for a moment, before he regained control over himself. And what was even worse; he had no idea of how to answer her. Of course there was a reason; he felt the urge to protect her from harm. But if he said that, she would only ask further and he would answer; fully aware of the trap he would walk into, but he'd answer nonetheless. But he wasn't ready yet to tell Jenny the fear he had felt when Connor had told him about the accident, or when he'd heard about her injuries. In those moments it had hurt terribly, but it was noting compared to the feeling he had expierienced when he had realised Jenny couldn't remember any of them. Or rather the total missing of all feelings. He had felt as if he had died. Silently Nick had always wondered what would happen to him when he would lose Jenny. No he knew it; with her every single bit of him that was still human and clung to what hope he had left would leave him also and he would linger on, bereft of the only thing that made him feel alive. But he couldn't tell her yet, he even doubted if he ever could.

"Nick?" her voice drifted hrought the clouds of his troubled mind, pulling him out of it and he returned his gaze towards Jenny.

"I'm sorry, I was thinking. What was the question again?" There was no real need to ask, Nick already feared the question had burned itself under his skin, inside his heart and he would never be able to forget it again.

"I asked, if there is a reason you take care of me." She replied patiently, sensing it was a difficult topic.

"Well, I guess, its just my nature." Which was not really a lie, though it wasn't even close to the truth. Yes it was within his nature to lok out for his team-mates and friends and to take care of them when they were hurt or injured, but it wasn't the reason why he took care of Jenny. The true reason for that had nothing to do with responsibility or duty, that rason was locked deep within his heart, and Nick wasn't ready yet to open that cage, set that emotion free and tell Jenny.

Because the real reason was much simpler than everything before in his life. He did it because he loved her. He knew that now, but he couldn't face it yet, let alone tell Jenny, but he knew one day he would pluck up the courage to tell her, but right now was definately not the right time. Perhaps later, when she had remembered all the things she had forgotten and was able to turn her mind on other matters, but deep within him Nick thought that he might never get that opportunity.

Jenny accepted the answer, thought she didn't look covinced by it. It was hard to lie to her, Nick knew that, but he hoped he would get some time before she started to ask again. And it seemed that she had understood that he needed more time, because she turned the conversation around and the further drive was filled with a few questions, a bit of light teasing and a good deal of laughing, so Nick was able to turn his own mind to more pleasant areas of conversation. At length they reached the street Jenny lived in and suddenly the woman next to him was hushed. Interested, but frowning she stared out of the window.

"I know this place." She whispered low, almost in awe of her surroundings. Nick resisted the urge to tell her straight away, Dr. Mitchell had asked him to give Jenny the chance to remember in her own pace. So he just drove a bit slower in order to give her time to look at everything properly. He caught her gaze as she looked at him expectantly, as if she wanted him to solve the riddle for her.

_Another thing.. Jenny never was good at riddles..._

"Come on, you tell me. Why does this place look familiar to you?" he said, giving Jenny an encouraging smile. She smiled back for a second, before she looked out of the window again, her brown eyes on every house.

"I've been here before, haven't I?"

As a response Nick just nodded, but kept silent, reminding himself constantly to not tell her.

"I live here, right? That's why everything seems familiar to me." Triumphantly she grinned at Nick, as she always did when she had solved one of the riddles.

Nick stopped the Hilux in the space usually occupied with Jenny's Volvo and got out to help her. It was no use; she had already opened her door, swung the cast out, one hand on the doorhandle, the other was holding one of the crutches. Grinning widely she glanced up for a moment, before she took a graceful leap onto her good leg.

"Ha, was to fast for you there, hm? This time you can't carry me." She teased, picking up the conversation from earlier, while she fiddled with the second crutch. Despite his slight concern Nick couldn't stop himself from laughing. That was so typical for Jenny, even if she had no idea. That woman would rather have it to hurt herself than to need someone's help.

While Jenny stood in front of her garden gate, looking towards the house, Nick grabbed the small bag of hers again and joined her. The expression on her face was strange; she looked like she was miles away.

"Jenny? What is it?"

A while she was silent, standing there like a figure carven in stone, only one strand of her brown hair flowing in the light breeze. At length she spoke.

"It feels so weird. I should know this house, but I can't remember it. It's like there are pictures in my head, like watchig a movie I don't know. I don't know how to describe it."

Now her smile was quenched and she stood still in front of her house, plain fear written on her face, just the simple, unquestionable fear of someone who can't recall his surroundings. Nick knew that feeling well, he had felt it after his trip to the Permian, when he came back to find his world changed.

Suddenly everything had seemed alien, hostile even, like a monster that lurks in the dark ready to strike at any moment. And he felt horrible now, because Jenny had to go through that now.

Slowly he reached out for her, lay his hand gently on her shulder, careful not to hurt her, for she had bruises pretty much everywhere. At last; after some moments in silence with nothing than the low murmur of cars on the street to break it; Jenny returned her gaze towards him.

"You must be thinking I'm going crazy. You take care of me and I can't even remember you. I mean, I have a feeling that I know you, but I can't remember you. It's just confusing." She said quietly, but her smile blossomed again as she saw the understanding in Nick's blue eyes.

"It's ok Jenny. Believe me, I know how that feels."

Jenny smiled a bit broader now and suddely Nick thought he had just been raised within her mind to 'trustworthy' people. Slowly they made their way to the front door, where Nick unlocked it and let Jenny enter her home, looking around herself with the enthusiasm of a child, eager to find everything out.

In the kitchen they found Abby, Connor and Sarah, who had also visited her over the past week. They were already busy with cooking and all sorts of stuff, yet they found enough breath to banish Jenny into an old armchair standing in the living room, where she could overlook everything. The achitecture of her house was simple. Two storeys, all set with furniture which looked extremely expensive. Downstairs, on ground level so to speak, had been lots of rooms, but most of the walls had been brought down to create open living spaces. There was a stair in the hallway leading upstairs to Jenny's bedroom, the bathroom, two guestrooms and another room, to which no one had the key, because Jenny had locked it. No one knew what was within these rooms, probably they were cluttered with all sorts of stuff Jenny found no immidiate use for.

As Jenny had lowered herself into the chair and placed her cast on a small stool propped up by several pillows, she watched the two girls in the kitchen banter at Connor, who seemed to be constantly getting in the way of them.

It seemed so natural, so normal that she got lost watching them smiling, while her thoughts drifted away again. Yet she was grateful for Nick sitting next to her, careful not to get anywhere near the kitchen, probably he didn't want to encourage the women to do something to him, should he enter it.

Looking at him, she seemed to see a hint of sadness hidden behind the bright blue veils of his eyes and wondered what it might be. It was possible that it had something to do with the ARC, because he still hadn't told her what they really did. Instead he kept telling her, that she wasn't ready yet for that kind of news.

Somehow Jenny had to agree with that, she felt gloomy at times, especially when her leg started to hurt with dull pain. Yet she wanted to know what it was, maybe she could ask him later today. And ask him why he really took care of her. Jenny was very determined to find that one out, because even if she had lost her memory, she was far from being stupid (at leats she hoped so) and she had very well seen the look in his eyes when he had said it was his nature. It hadn't been the full truth. So she was injured and had forgotten most of what she once knew, but nonetheless it seemed that not all of her skills had left her. She knew that she could be very bossy when it came to it and Jenny had a slight feeling that Nick would be easy work on that part.

* * *

Later they were all gathered in the living room, Jenny slumped on the couch, Abby and Sarah next to her, writing greetings and well-wishes on Jenny's cast. At first Connor had wanted to join in too, but had failed utterly, because Abby had told him that he already had his chance. Now was their turn after all. The boy had to leave early because he had to take care of Abby's pets, which shouldn't be left alone for too lng, otherwise they's turn the flat upside down.

It had been a very nice day and evening, the lot of them sitting around talking about all sorts of stuff. Abby and Sarah did most of the talking, Jenny listened at first, but joined in soon, and after a while the men were totally forgotten. Not that Nick wanted to comlain, he just liked it to see Jenny smile, while the others talked to her.

And soon Jenny felt like a part of the whole group and even if she couldn't recall much, she felt like they had shared a lot together, which was probably why they felt so close to one another. They talked about light topics, even managed to nugde Sarah in the direction of calling Becker out on a date (though Jenny had no idea why she did it, it just felt right), yet that only lasted until Abby glanced to Jenny's right and giggled slightly.

Interested Jenny turned around and spotted Nick, fast asleep in one of her armchairs. Legs streched out in front of him, his head resting on his left hand he looked like he was listening what the women talked about, but the truth was he was sleeping deeply. Seeing him like this; his brow not frowned in thought, relaxed and calm, his whole face seemingly so peaceful; all the girls had to smile. It was rare that Nick slept, they all could tell that by the dark shadows underneath his eyes and therefore it was great that he finally had found some rest.

"Well, never thought we could actually talk someone to sleep." Sarah whispered low, careful not to be too loud, but had to stifle a yawn of her own.

"Good. He keeps looking out for everyone else, and forgets to rest himself." Jenny murmured back and surprisingly hit the point exactly. She had grasped what was most essential about Nick's personality (though there was probably a whole book full of traits) and had spoken it out.

"Should we wake him?" asked Abby, smiling at him a bit.

"No, let him sleep here. He needs rest and if this is the place he has chosen for that, then so be it. But just grab that blanket Abby and cover him, I don't want him to get cold." Jenny ordered and funnily the young woman obeyed almost at once. She just shot a strange glance over to Sarah, something between a grin and a frown, before she covered the man with a red blanket.

Hearing Sarah yawn again, all of them had to stifle a giggle, surely it was time for Sarah to get to bed at the least. She was sleeping over at Abby's place because she had drunken a bit of whine and felt like she shouldn't drive anymore.

After getting some more pillows for Jenny along with another blanket, a book and a bottle of water (simply because Jenny had suggested she'd best stay on ground level tonight), they hugged the older woman quietly and proceeded silently to the door. Jenny waited until she heard the door click shut, before she set her eyes on Nick. Somehow he had managed to slump even deeper in the chair, breathing deeply and steadily, covered by that red blanket.

He was actually kind of cute, his concern about everything both heartwarming and annoying and Jenny spent a few minutes to watch him before she turned her attention to the book Sarah had bought her as a house-warming present. Yet soon Jenny was within the dream worlds too.

* * *

A few hours later Nick awoke and looked around himself. For a moment he didn't know his surroundings, but then he remembered that the last thing he had seen before he fell asleep were the women talking about something. He looked over to the couch and was surprised to find Jenny there. Her left hand rested upon a book from Sarah, her head on several pillows and she was covered with a huge white blanket. Of course it wasn't that good if Jenny slept on the couch, but carrying her could hurt, so Nick left her where she was. Frowning he looked at the blanket which covered his legs, surely Jenny didn't give him that, so it must have been Abby or Sarah.

His thoughts came to a standstill as he took in the beauty of Jenny, lying on that couch, several strands of brown hair sprawled across her face. Recalling her smile again, he walked over to her, careful not to make any sound that could wake her. Smiling Nick crouched down next to her, just watching her shut eyes and her smiling lips. He reached out, took the hair out of her brow and caressed her cheek, before he even knew he was doing that.

It surprised him how his ability to think of many things at once just disappeared whenever Jenny was near. His thoughts seemed to slow down at first, then stopped entirely. She brought order to the chaos within his mind, while all of his senses were bound to her, the sight of her, the scent of her hair, everything entranced him. Strangely no woman had ever managed that, certainly not Helen and not even Claudia.

But somehow Jenny was capable of that, she made him smile when he started to get gloomy (which was often these days), made him see reason when he was reckless and dragged him away from work when he got too focussed on it. She had now occupied the place where Stephen had once been and even more to that, Jenny had conquered a place within his heart no one had ever reached before.

Walking back towards the armchair Nick sat down to think about it closer. And while he watched her beauty against the warm shine of a small lamp standing behind her, he realized there was not one moment more in his life he wanted to spend without Jenny in it. He had almost lost her, not only because of the crash, for it was possible that she could have died in it, but because of her memory loss also. He shuddered as he thought of it again, that blank stare in Jenny's eyes, it was pretty much the same stare the others had shown when he had told them about Claudia Brown, they were looking at him as if he was going nuts. They had no idea what he was talking about.

Forcing his brain to think of something else than that, he recalled the first genuine smile Jenny had given him after her accident. How happy she had seemed. And still seeing the picture of her smile within his mind Nick fell asleep once more.

* * *

The next morning was bright and beautiful as Jenny woke up by the smell of eggs and bacon wandering through her house. Glancing sleepily over to the armchair she saw that it was no longer occupied. Instead she heard someone in the kitchen. Sitting up and wincing silently due to the pitch of pain through her leg she looked towards the kitchen area and saw Nick standing at her stove, making breakfast.

Seeing that he was busy, Jenny reached for her bag with the painkillers in it. Thankfully the hospital had its own pharmacy, so they had been able to get the pills right away. Grimacing Jenny swallowed one of them and shuddered at the taste of it, just as Nick turned around.

"You know, you shouldn't take those without something to eat first." He said, but his stern voice was wiped away by the smile he showed. He was leaning at a wooden pillar that reached from floor to ceiling, and had his hands casually crossed on his chast, smiling at her while his eyes seemed to clench right at her heart.

"How about breakfast?" he asked grinning widely, for he had already noticed the sideway glances Jenny had given the pan behind him.

"Sounds great, I'm starving." She smiled back at him and reached out for her crutches, but stopped as she heard Nick's voice again.

"No no no, you stay there. All part of the service." He winked at her once and turned his attention back to the food and started putting it on plates. Clearly he had been awake for quite a while, because he had already found everything he thought suitable for breakfast. Not that Jenny would have been a great help in telling him where the kitchen goods were. But he had found a small tablet, already stuffed with various things. Two glasses one with water, the other one filled with orange juice, a mug of coffee besides one filled with tea, along with some bread. Now two plates with scrambled eggs and bacon joined the other items and Nick walked over to her.

"Is that all for the two of us? Who should eat all this?" she asked interested, yet smiling nonetheless. It was incredibly nice of Nick to make breakfast for her but then again, it really seemed to be within his nature to look out for the people around him. Although it seemed to Jenny he was giving her special treatment in a way. But as to why he did that, she had no clear answer and once more she wished for the veils which clouded her memory to lift and allow her to get some sense into this.

"Well, I had no idea what you liked best so I brought you a little variety of things to choose from. Except the coffee, the doc said you shouldn't mix caffeine with your painkillers." He said while he passed a plate to her, and strangely the smile never left his face. It seemed to deepen and grow with every moment that passed by.

"Wow, thank you, that is really nice of you. Oh my God, this tastes great!" she exclaimed as she started eating the eggs, which resulted in Nick giggling happily.

"Thank you. But I wouldn't want to subject you to my cooking fully. Stephen once said; scrambled eggs and bacon is the only thing I can cook which can be eaten afterwards."

"Really, it's great."Jenny continued while she looked at Nick. For a while they sat in silcence, Nick sipping his coffee, while Jenny was fully aware of the fact that Nick kept staring at her. Though not in a weird way, but his eyes never missed a movement she made. And all the time that smile was plastered across his lips.

After they had finished their breakfast and Jenny was sitting back contended and feeling worlds better, she looked at the man in front of her. Really looked at him, took everything in that was him. It was strange, something seemed to have changed since yesterday. And thinking about it she thought that now was the best time to ask the questions about the ARC.

The question itself had a dire effect on Nick, for his smile vanished and made room for a frown upon his brow. Sternly he looked at Jenny, as if he wanted to find out if she could take information about that.

"Nick, please tell me. I'll find out anyway, but I want to know it now, so don't make me call Connor to torture you."

For a moment there was a surprised silence filling the room, Jenny had caught him off guard on that one. Yet it only lasted for a moment, before both burst out in laughter.

"Mercy! I'll tell you, but please, not Connor!" nick cried jokingly. It was true, the boy had a brilliant mind and that brain of his was a weapon to be scared of and it would only grow stronger as time passed on. Nick liked the boy a lot, but usually Connor talked to much at a very fast pace and had the uncanny ability to give everyone around him headaches. Except Abby, she seemed to have become used to that. Either that, or she was wearing invisible earmuffs.

At length their laughter subsided and Jenny fell silent, the gleam within her eyes demanding news on the ARC.

"Ok, well, the ARC is a government funded research centre as I've told you before. We keep looking for something called Anomalies; they are rifts in time and ... space. And well, sometimes something comes through them and we deal with that. Animals from different periods of time, sometimes the past, sometimes the future. I know this sounds nuts, but its true. That is what we do, we chase creatures from the past and the future or try not to be chased by them."

He had been prepared for disbelief, he even was prepared for Jenny throwing him out of the house, because if he was true to himself, it sounded totally insane. But to his complete and utter surprise Jenny just laughed and shrugged dismissively.

"Well, I guess there are worse jobs. And I reckon its pretty adventurous."

"Yes, there are definitely worse jobs. Usually it's very interesting, because who gets to see a dinosaur at work?" Nick grinned back at her, relieved that she seemed to accept it.

"Could we go there? To the ARC, I mean. I want to see it."

The idea was good, and due to the fact it was a Saturday after all, there would be less trouble at the ARC. Maybe even Lester wold be at home. And Nick couldn't deny that it was a good opportunity after all, maybe a short visit there could trigger Jenny's memory a bit. And knowing his team mates, at least one of them would be there to hold the fort in case something happened. Thinking about it, it would probably be Sarah, because she worked a lot with the Artifact; not to mention that she tried to be close to Becker, often working longer when he had the night shift. So there would be at least one person more Jenny already knew.

The woman waited patiently; she could tell Nick was thinking. At length he met her gaze again.

"I think you're right. But nonetheless; the doc said you should take it easy, do you think you can do that?" he asked concerned. Jenny had been discharged only yesterday and she probably wasn't able to stand or walk for long periods of time. But her determined nod and the smile which blossomed on her face mad Nick's thoughts drift off into the big nowhere again.

Soon they were on their way towards the huge ship-like building, Jenny glancing sometimes at him, smiling and laughing a lot. And even if Nick silently doubted that regaining her memory would be that simple, he purely enjoyed her company. Right now, he strangely didn't care if the world came to an end, as long as Jenny was there, it was ok.

* * *

At the ARC

Jenny glanced around interested; her brown eyes spliting images of saucers while she (maybe subconciously) made her way towards the main room of the ARC. Nick's suggestions had been right, Sarah was here, working again. At least she pretended to be at work. Apperentely she had picked up her car from Jenny's place early this morning. And as usual Becker stood guard at the door to her office. Nick greeted him with a curteous nod; while Jenny hopped on her crutches right past him. Fascinated she stopped in front of the ADD, watching the slow detection target wander across the map of Britain.

As soon as they had entered the premises of the ARC, Jenny had fallen silent. No question, no laughter, not the slightest hint of smile. Instead she just frowned as a woman would who is not familiar with his surroundings.

Sarah came out of her office as soon as Becker had gossiped that Jenny was back. Smiling hugely she stepped up to the woman and hugged her a bit. Yet the smile faltered and she turned her slightly angry eyes towards Nick.

"And what is it with you? She should be home, resting her leg." She pointed towards him, who looked momentarily startled, but quickly recovered and shot back.

"What do you want me to do about it? Tie her to the couch?" due to that quite funny image in his head Nick had to laugh and Sarah grinned too. Probably Hell would freeze over first, ere Jenny would let anyone do that to her. She would rather kill the person trying it than let it happen.

And while the two still grinned and giggled slightly, Jenny stood there right in the middle of the room, the large logo underneath her feet, surrounded by unknown machines in a place she couldn't remember. She felt panic rise in her chest, along with doubts. What if Nick had lied to her, and they were some kind of terrorist group, believing in the apocalypse? For a moment she even believed it, but then Jenny recalled the look in his eyes whenever Nick set his gaze upon her. There had never been any lie within them, but as to how she knew that, she wasn't able to say. She just knew it.

Refusing to appear as the damsel in distress, Jenny shook her head slightly and looked around the huge room again. Her theory was working, she slowly could recall some things. She remembered banter with Nick in front of the ADD, but there were also not so pleasant memories. She was once shouting at him for holding a gun to her head.

_Why had he done that?_ She wondered.

At the far side of the room Jenny spotted a huge black board hanging on the wall. It looked like there would usually hang schedules for meetings and that kind of thing, but now the space was occupied by a large poster. Curiously Jenny stepped closer, heedless of the two people behind her.

On the board there hung a poster with a photograph on it, showing a woman, beautiful yet terrible at the same time. Her hair was brown and short, her eyes spoke of a woman who doesn't care about anything as long as it served her purpose. That woman was someone who had no care whatsoever for anything.

_I've seen her before..._

The poster itself was oversized, colored, in the making resembling a 'wanted' poster. And while Jenny stared in the womans lifeless eyes, her mind began to race, scenes and places and names reappearing within her head, so many that it almost made her dizzy. And then, with a sudden burst of realization Jenny knew why the woman was familiar to her. , she was the one who had brought all the sorrow back as if a dam had been broken down. Her joining the team, Nick who kept confusing her with this Claudia Brown, creature hunts, Stephen, Abby and Connor, Lester, Sarah, and above all of them, towering like some ancient goddess of revenge; Helen Cutter. The most wanted person by the ARC personnel, Nick included. The woman which Jenny would happily see eaten by some predator.

Finally her thoughts ceased fire again and trembling Jenny turned away from the picture. Holding her body weight on one of her crutches, she pressed her left palm against her temple; she was getting a headache again. She remembered most of it, though not everything; but enough to know where she was and why she was there. And what was even more important, she could finally connect the faces of the people around her with certain events.

Looking up she saw only Sarah, stnding not a pace away, a concerned expression on her face, as if she feared the woman could break down.

"Where's Nick?" Jenny whispered weakly. She definately didn't feel well, and since she had the accident, Nick had always been there. Where was he now?

"He had to make a call to the lab on some study we've been doing. He's in his office. But maybe you ought to sit down first, you look like you're going to pas out." Sarah gently reached out for her arm and led her slowly to a nearby chair. Jenny had to admit, sitting was way better than standing. At least now she could focus on things without having to watch out for her balance.

She looked at the younger woman in front of her, saw the concern in her dark eyes and had to smile. Now she also knew that her and Sarah had been sharing some secrets. Though the last time they had talked was a while ago, before the fire within the ARC to be exact. The day Nick had been shot. Recalling that was the most painful image in her mind, his lifeless body in front of her, the emptiness she had felt at the thought of his death.

"I remember now, Sarah." Jenny whispered low, only for the other woman to hear. Surprise mixed with great joy danced for a moment on Sarah's features, before she hugged Jenny happily.

"Really? Oh, this is great! How are you feeling about that?" she asked, patiently waiting for an answer, while she sat down herself.

"Well, my head is throbbing, but otherwise I'm fine. I guess that was this 'Big Bang' Connor was going on about. And wow, that was what I call a bang. All that because of that picture of Helen over there. Weird."

"so you can remember everything? And you're feling fine?" Sarah was instantaneously concerned again, despite the happiness within her.

"I'm ok. I can't remember everything yet, but much. I'll just get some Aspirin later or one of my painkillers. But I have to go to Nick now, I want to thank him for taking care of me.

Without further thought or word, Jenny stood up again and made her ay towards Nick's office. Suddenly nothing seemed hostile anymore, all was comforting and familiar to her and that feeling increased the closer she got to Nick's office. It was almost like she was steering towards some light house which promised safety. And as she thought so, Jenny's heart nearly welled over because Nick had taken on so much hurt to make her feel safe and comforted. No doubt it must have been aterrible reminder of his own things. Abby had once told her about that whole Claudia Brown thing and Jenny's accident must have ripped old wounds open again. Yet nonetheless he had taken care of her and besides, there had been a gleam in his eyes Jenny hadn't seen before. Neither on Nick nor on any other man who had ever set eyes on her. Sure, there was something between them, everybody knew it, but both of them were probably worried to make the first move. Nick was probably concerned he'd lose her again and Jenny was worried he'd only see the image of Claudia Brown in her.

Stepping into the office her thought subsided as Nick looked up from his desk to look at her. His eyes quickly glanced behind her and he frowned as he could spot no one.

_She found her way alone..._

"Jenny? Is everything alright?" he asked concerned, almost worried at her expression which was both sad and happy.

Nodding Jenny came closer, leaning at the desk in order to get rid of the crutches.

"I've remembered." Just a simple sentence, three words to be precise, yet they broke through Nick's defensive walls like a rogue tank. Cautiously he drew closer to her, his blue eyes bound to hers, that strange gleam within them again.

"Honestly?" he whispered as if she was a dream vision and would fade if he spoke louder. Jenny had to supress a shudder at that and kept a straight face so to speak. Insteak of speaking, she reached out and laid her hand on Nick's chest, exactly on that spot where Helen's bullet had struck. That day they had all almost lost him. She had almost lost him. Realizing she couldn't bear that, Jenny looked up into his eyes once more and finally recognized the gleam within them and why it only appeared whenever she was around.

_Jenny Lewis, h__ow on earth could you be that blind..._

"I am sorry for what happened. And I am happy that you took care of me noneteless. Doubtless it was a terrible reminder on things that happened before we met. Yet there is one thing I'd like to know." She said, her hand still on his chest and Nick made no attempt to change that.

"And what is that?" he asked, drawing ever closer to her, as if her were a puppet pulled by an invisible string.

"Did you take care of me, because I look like her?"

Hurt flashed briefly across Nick's face, he looked like he had just been hit by Jenny. For a moment she was sorry to spoil his good mood, but she just had to know it.

"Jenny, I took care of you because I wanted to. It wasn't because I saw someone else in you. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you, that you don't remind me of her, but that wasn't the reason. When you had the accident I thought about what would happen if you wouldn't make it and I found out that it would have been a blow I couldn't take. It is true, my version of reality has changed, but in the end I'm glad about it and I'd go through it again and again if I had to."

"Why?" Jenny whispered, deeply touched by the honesty within his words.

Nicks smile was sweet and the promise in his eyes made Jenny drift away in a world ruled by his care and his love.

"It brought me to you." He answered simple and pulled Jenny in a long and caring embrace and kissed her tenderly, heedless of the fact they were at work (technically). And Jenny let it happen, losing hersef in the soft touch of his lips and the feeling that spread between them. She clung to him as if he was her anchor in stormy seas. And in truth he was, he had kept her safe in the past and would ever keep her safe. At last she had found her safe haven and deep within her soul she knew he felt the same way, even if he didn'T speak it out yet.

But her thoughts ceased again as she leaned onto him, her ear on his chest, the steady beat of his heart lulling her into a state of total and utter safety. Wherever they would end in the future, as long as Nick was with her, she would feel secure.

They were together and that was all that mattered to her.

THE END

* * *

Ok, so this is the end of this story. A bit sappy, I know, but I couldn't help it. 

But I have to say that the next story will probably be more the adventurous type, simply because I think I'm just not made for fluff^^ Others are way better than me in that part.

Thanks to all who have reviewed, it really feels great if someone tells you you're doing a good job, so thank you all for that. And the people that didn't review... It's great that you read my story, I always wanted people to at least read what I write.

Greetings Callie


End file.
